First Year Residents (EM-1)

  • Jonathan Berlowitz

    Jonathan Berlowitz

    Hometown: Lincoln, MA
    Medical School: Boston University
    Interests/Hobbies: Boston sports (and the WooSox!), pickup basketball/soccer/tennis/ultimate, strategy board/card games (particularly bridge, if you haven't heard of it ask someone aged 80+), politics (amateur election forecaster), Arsenal FC, backyard games, traveling (or planning future trips!), 
    Why UMass: Academic 3-year program with enthusiastic faculty specialized in all kinds of different areas of emergency medicine. High acuity, lots of procedures and volume. Staying near friends and family in a fun city with a great food and beer scene. Since getting here, everything has been exactly what I was hoping for and has exceeded all of my expectations!
  • Brian Brisebois

    Brian Brisebois

    Hometown: Fitchburg, MA
    Medical School: UMass Chan
    Interests/Hobbies: Camping, hiking, running, video games, bass guitar, bass clarinet, role playing games, miniature painting, scuba diving, biking, 
    Why UMass:  I've felt at home since I started training here, so staying at UMass was an easy decision. The residents and faculty are kind and supportive, a theme that carries across the entire institution. The training environment is excellent with high acuity and volume. I also love the availability of EM fellowships available, with almost every subspecialty represented. Having access to subspecialty conferences and meetings is a unique learning opportunity that many EM programs don't have. I wanted a three-year program at a major academic center, providing both a focused and well-rounded residency experience.  Worcester and the surrounding communities are a great place to raise a family, with good schools and plenty of outdoor activities. Finally, I have many friends that decided to stay here at UMass to complete their residency training, which I think speaks volumes about the quality of the education and culture. I'm so grateful to be able to continue my training here at home. 
  • Lillith Bulawa

    Lillith Bulawa

    Hometown: Greeneville, TN.
    Medical School: Quillen College of Medicine (East Tennessee State Univ). 
    Interests/hobbies: I love traveling, hiking, rock climbing, skiing/snowboarding, spending time with my dog and my loved ones (in that order), watching anime, playing MTG and PC games.  Academically, I’m interested in international/rural/austere medicine. 
    Why UMass: I have an interest in a little bit of everything and UMass offers so many fellowship opportunities. Also, mentorship is really important to me and UMass has so many great people who are not only willing to mentor but also are passionate about it. Regarding Worcester, it is home to an incredibly diverse patient population. 
  • Jon Chastek

    Jon Chastek

    Hometown: Pittsburgh PA
    Medical School: LECOM
    Interests/Hobbies: Whitewater kayaking, playing music, and hanging out with my three dogs
    Why UMass: I chose UMass because I wanted to train somewhere with a wide variety of critically ill patients. Also the residents and the staff seemed to genuinely enjoy being around each other in and outside of work.  
  • Emily Cheney

    Emily Cheney

    Hometown: Bourne, MA
    Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
    Interests/Hobbies: Running, biking, reading, breweries, skiing, going to the beach, gardening 
    Why UMass: Umass has everything I was looking for in a program: location, curriculum, and people. I am so excited to be back home in Mass! Secondly, we see everything from day one, there is a diverse patient population, and we are exposed to many fellowship opportunities. Lastly, feel supported by both faculty and residents in the emergency room and outside. 
  • Sarah Connell

    Sarah Connell

    Hometown: Killeen, TX
    Medical School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine
    Interests/hobbies: hiking, camping, doing anything with my dog Ellie, reading, video games, concerts, learning new classical pieces on the piano
    Why UMass: Fellowship exposure, procedure experience, rotation in Hawaii, overall program benefits
  • Alexander Herr

    Alexander Herr

    Hometown: Union, CT
    Medical School: Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University 
    Interests/hobbies: Running, fantasy football, golf, disc golf, NFL (Patriots fan), bowhunting, personal finance, pizza, cats, scuba diving. 
    Why UMass: I chose UMass because of the proximity to family, supportive learning environment and down to earth faculty and residents. On my visiting rotation, I observed that residents were comfortable with managing critically ill patients and adept at procedures (e.g. central lines, intubations, lumbar punctures). I also observed that didactics were excellent, and faculty were highly invested in teaching. Overall, I think UMass offers an extremely well-rounded curriculum with excellent leadership, faculty, and residents. 
  • Annabelle Jordan

    Annabelle Jordan

    Hometown: Kansas City, KS
    Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine
    Interests/hobbies: Photography, Taekwondo, Reading
    Why UMass: On my interview day I felt like UMass had a really good culture and that I could see myself getting along well with the residents. UMass also had a great reputation and I was sure that I would learn a lot here!

  • Teresa Marsinelli

    Teresa Marsinelli

    Hometown: Braintree, MA
    Medical School: UNECOM
    Interests/Hobbies: cooking, dance, yoga 
    Why UMass: When looking at residencies my husband (who is a police officer in Sharon, MA) and I wanted to stay close to home and I wanted to go to a well established program in a diverse city. UMass checks both those boxes and more! Being from Massachusetts, UMass was always known as one of the best hospitals in the states so being apart of this program is really a dream come true! 
  • Christopher O'Neil

    Christopher O'Neil

    Hometown: Shrewsbury MA
    Medical School: SUNY Upstate in Syracuse NY
    Interests/Hobbies: I enjoy playing tennis, road bicycling, playing video games, and more recently rock climbing. I also like to dabble in whatever artistic ventures I can get my hands on, and for the last few years have been playing around with silk screening t-shirts and posters.
    Why UMass: I had the sense after interviewing and after doing an away rotation here at UMass that this is a program that allows its new interns to dive in headfirst and tackle challenging and complex patients - but that also goes to great lengths to make sure those interns are supported and nurtured. 
  • Joseph Penna

    Joseph Penna

    Hometown: Reading MA
    Medical school: UNECOM
    Interests/hobbies: BJJ/wrestling, video games, coffee, surfing and reading
    Why UMass: I wanted to stay close to my family/friends to have a support system near me. Also, I knew Umass would expose me to a lot of different pathologies so I could be better prepared when I am an attending.

  • Brandon Smalls

    Brandon Smalls

    Hometown: LaGrange, GA
    Medical School: University of South Carolina Greenville
    Interest/Hobbies: Filmmaking, writing fantasy fiction novels, weightlifting
    Why UMass: I wanted to get back into skiing! In all honesty, though, the educational system in Massachusetts is hard to beat in general and I already had a fantastic support system in the area. Choosing UMass was a no-brainer.
  • Divya Srinivas

    Divya Srinivas

    Hometown: Cary, NC
    Medical school: East Carolina Brody SOM
    Interests/Hobbies: Hiking, Baking, going to the gym, most sitcoms, tea sessions, hosting dinner parties, playing with my German Shepherd 
    Why UMass: I grew up in Shrewsbury and still had close family in the area and wanted to move back! I loved how strong the program is and how residents graduated with confidence. The people are kind, fun, and always willing to teach!
  • Julia Via

    Julia Via

    Hometown: Buffalo, New York 
    Medical School: Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
    Interests/Hobbies: Spending time with my dog Winston, reading, dancing, crafting fun cocktails, trying new restaurants with friends, Mario Kart, and investing my well-being into Buffalo sports teams. Go Bills!
    Why UMass: UMass had everything I was looking for in a residency program including being located in diverse city with a high volume of patients and offering a wide variety of pathologies, (Hawaii was also an added perk). But my primary reason for choosing this program was that I could feel the sense of camaraderie between residents and faculty during my interview. I liked that even through the screen of a zoom call, I could appreciate how positive and supportive of an environment UMass is.